Ciao-Gianni

Awaken your creative spirit here with us at Casa Pergola! Come and let the rugged, pastoral landscape of Sicily speak to you while sketching and painting with Gianni Ballistreri, an accomplished and passionate Sicilian artist. A friend once said, "If you cut Gianni, colors would come out"… when you meet him you will understand why. He loves working with students of all skill levels.

My name is Gianni Ballistreri,

I'm 60 years old and I was born in the hilltop city of Gangi in the center of Sicily. From an early age I have always had a particular talent for drawing and painting. I studied art in Cefalù , Siracusa, and Venice, where I attended the Academy of Fine Arts and the International Center of Graphics. Since 1983 I have taught art, painting and design, first in Venice, where I lived for 25 years and then in Cefalu where I now teach at the School of Arts.

In our time together sketching, and painting in watercolor, we will focus on techniques for landscape, portrait and figure drawing, visually recording our time here in our handmade sketch and watercolor books. You will be free to pursue your own avenue of expression, but I will be here to assist and explain some of the techniques. Above all, I will try to convey my love and passion for art and design.

I remember that in Greece, many years ago, I met a woman of 90 years from New York, who painted beautiful watercolors, I asked her how long she had been painting. Her response was "I started only 3 years ago"

So dear students it is never too late to learn something new. There is an old South American song "Do, Do, Do, and You Will Learn ."